Quiet North

Life in the foothills, behind the highway.

Sneak Peek - Kid Icarus Collaboration

photo courtesy of the most excellent Kid Icarus

So here is a quick sneak peek at the project i have been hinting at for the last while.  I have been working with Kid Icarus, an amazing Toronto based shop that deals and creates quality handmade goods, to create a line of six greeting cards from some of my illustrations that developed out of all my journal work.  The cards will be available via Kid Icarus, and I think a couple may even be on display at their booth this weekend at the Bloorcourt Arts and Craft Festival! I am so excited about the cards, it's totally awesome to see them coming together and to see my woodland illustrations finding a life somewhere outside my sketch book. I can wait to share all six designs, but until then check out more of the sneak peek shots here!

Back from Algonquin

Kye and I took off for a quick trip up to Algonquin this weekend. We did our first ever portaging trip.  We covered four lakes all together and camped on two different camp sites.  It was out of this world beautiful! Photos to follow soon.  Now it's back to work and city life.  I am working on oodles of letters to send out, some special baby projects for friends and hopefully some greeting cards! Stay tuned...also I can't wait to share some of the beautiful envelopes that have graced my mail box this week!

Mail Art Summer...

A lovely party invite from Kye!

Summer has been a mess of sunshine and goodness, and i have been finding it hard to stay indoors.  That combined with the fact that i keep forgetting my camera at work has put me a little behind on updating my blog with all the wonders that I have piled up in my mailbox. 

I received four beautiful packages all full of lovely things from a group of awesome ladies all over the globe. I've been meaning to document the beautiful cards from Jessica, the colourful paper presents from Jeannine, the envelope of treasures from Kye, and the pocket full of stars from Lindsay for a couple weeks now but i am moving at a snails pace.  But i wanted to send out some gratitude to my friends for their awesome gifts...so I thought i would share some journal pages i've making using some of the things that they sent me in the mail! (luckily i can't leave my scanner at work as it is anchored to my desk at home).

So many stars from my Lindsay.

Paper crane came all the way from Australia! Thanks Jessica!

Beautiful paper sent to me by Jeannine!

For a friend...

Happy encouragement!

i have a friend who is finishing her dissertation for her phd.  it sounds insanely challenging and grueling.  she was telling me how she has to go over her paper over and over again with notes...so i thought she might enjoy some happy stickers to put on parts that were done...or at least to decorate it! anyways, they are just a quick sketch for fun...and hey if you need some happy encouragement today feel free to print out and stick to your work.

Weekend Sketches

a message for the forest.

I've been working on some little illustrations over the last few weeks for an upcoming project.  Here are some snaps from this weekends rough sketches.  So excited.  I also have a big post coming about some lovely mail packages I received in the mail recently.  As for my weekend a few things stand out:
1. a long swim under the blazing evening sky.
2. a hazy bbq with so many lovely friends...and then there was that bag full of boxes with black widow spiders...the non-poisonous male kind...they belonged to a black widow spider expert I met that night! So amazing!
3. finding the venue for a very big future event!

Party Sweater.

Lost in a field of flora.

He is lonely.

Mutual respect.

Sneak Peek - Unicorns

Unicorns are ridiculous and awesome all at once.  I am a fan.

I think the bushes are getting sneakier.

Rainbow tears.

Tough Times.

This envelope diorama is not yet complete...but I thought a sneak peek might be fun.  I still need to finish the cut outs that accompany the unicorns and the envelope, and then off it goes in the mail...to who, I still don't know...

Desk Notes...

dance party.

Summer is here...it's hot...and it's good! The weather makes me feel like i am waking around in a dream, sleepy and hazy images float by, occasionally punctuated by bright fresh moments in pools.  Getting things done is of course a challenge. I am currently working on some designs which will hopefully be turned into some greeting cards and stationery...woot woot! Doing some more envelope dioramas...photos to follow...but for now...here are some desk notes...a la instagram...i think the hazy filters and soft focus make them look like you are seeing them what I would like to call 'dream vision'.

Also...
I owe a thank you to Rosalie for including some of my work in her happy thoughts post! Rosalie is a most excellent photographer...her work also uses 'dream vision'. And some good things: these stamps...which illustrate my favourite parts about summer! Thanks J!

breakfast dance.

Bunnies!

More happy thoughts.

shifty business.

Wild Hearts!

Friends found on cottage roads.

Back from the cottage. Sun kissed, lake washed, and full of radiant horizons.  I took along my sketch book and camera.  Found so many wild flowers along the roads that weaved around our home in the woods.  I can't seem to get enough wilderness right now.  Oh and there were ducks! 

And I must pass on some blog love (i am a little behind due to all the vacation...my apologies!)
1. a big blushing thank you to Crystal from the lovely blog House of Hearts for her post about my Kitten Face blog!
2. thank you thank you to my newest twitter pal Kye, for her post all about inspiration and zines!
3. Jeanine also made a lovely mention of my wolf zine on her Saylor Made blog, which has become one of my favourite places to visit! Her newest post about polaroid week got my brain spinning!
4. Robyn is next, who was the recipient of my Raccoon diorama! Her blog is filled with so much mail art awesomeness it makes your heart swell into the shape of an envelope!
5. Huge Thank You to Simone for her post about the Wolves zine...I heart Simone's videos! Watch them!
6. And finally to Sophie from So Lovely Decoration, a site I frequent everyday to dream at, for her post of my work up on an awesome site called 'Ohlesgirls'...so awesome!   

Happy times in the grass. We wear tiny flowers in our hair.

Hiking to the edge of the lake, grass under foot, green stained soles wash clean in water.

Wild flowers, tamed.

Group hug.

The curious one.

Picnics in Letters!

Picnic Time!

I am so happy that the postal strike is over, because now I can get back to filling envelopes to all my lovely penpal's with mini picnics and many other wonderful things! 

We are all friends here!